Most mornings I will read the news on my phone as I have breakfast. This is my contact with the outside world and the good thing about it is that I have complete control over it just in the same way that China wishes it could control all its citizens. I of course need to use a VPN to jump over the Great Firewall and at the moment it seems to be working OK. If I was at home, wherever that is these days, I would be listening to copious amounts of bullshit about Brexit and if I happened to be in Australia I would be bombarded with the political drama that is Australian politics, although there is another fascination in Australia and that is the Royal Commission which they seems to have for just about anything these days, another expensive waste of time but it keeps many high paid folk in jobs.

So the banks are currently under scrutiny and of course like any business they bullshit their customers at times to make an extra quid, but what I find totally laughable are the customers themselves that believe the bullshit that they are told. And now many of the customers are complaining because they cannot pay back the huge amounts of debt they have accrued by investing in the property market. Many have tried to cash in on the property boom that has been going on in Australia for many years but now it seems to have leveled off and the prices are even beginning to fall and of course now there is no cash flow for some due to the down turn in the mining sector and the shit has hit the fan

I bought a house back in 2004 and shortly afterwards I needed to replace my car and so I approached the bank and asked if I could increase my by $12,000 and they said yes. My finances were stretched to the hilt but I needed a car, because in Australia not having a car is not an option. As a matter of curiosity I asked the bank manager about how much money I could borrow if I wanted to buy another house, he told me I could borrow another $250,000 on top of my current debt of $125,000. I asked how I could pay for all this debt considering I was just scraping by. He replied” Just get a renter into your new place and all will be well” and this is where many are caught in the financial web. I agree it is not good practice to sell someone a product that really does not suit them or that might be a little dangerous for them but at the end of the day these borrowers must take the final responsibility for their actions, grab a pen and paper and do a few sums and see if you can pay back the money. If you have been given the wrong information or have been sold a product that professes to do something other than you were told then of course you have recourse, but if you are just too stupid and greedy and can’t count then I would have to say tough shit.

And so once more breakfast has come to an end and I can turn off the VPN and shut the western world out for a bit and become a mushroom once more. This is one really good thing about living here, I don’t have to listen or come in contact with the piles of so called news bullshit and there is no tabloid nonsense either. Of course if you live in amongst it all, you can do the same but eventually some of the bullshit will filter through.

The other day it was a wee bit fresh and I was working on my computer and all of a sudden this wee fly came by and flew around my head and then he sat down beside the computer on the table.

It would move every so often but it didn’t seem to be too concerned about me at all and then I was wondering what’s its game, does he know me and maybe it was a reincarnation of a previous soul but who can tell.

So for at least half an hour this wee creature sat there and I just couldn’t work it out and then the penny dropped.

The wee fly had found the spot where the fan on the computer was and so it was getting a blast of hot hair and it was just trying to keep itself warm on an unexpected chilly day and keeping warm was more important than the possibility of this big human smacking it on the head. How clever………

A couple of weeks ago in the city of Kunshan which is between Suzhou and Shanghai there was a bit if road rage that saw one person getting killed with a rather large machete. The guy on the bike was cycling in the bus lane when the driver of the BMW decided to drive down it too and bike and BMW collided.

The driver was furious and got out his car wielding this huge machete and chased the guy on the bike, but after a bit of a struggle he dropped the machete. The other guy got hold of the knife and struck the fatal blow to the car driver and justice was served cold and swift.

No charges were laid against the guy on the bike, after all he was only defending himself.

I bought my return ticket for the train from Shanghai to Suzhou before I left for Hong Kong but after I bought it I realised I was cutting it very fine to make it.

The plane arrived 5 mins early and when I got off the plane I made a beeline for immigration. I was through in a few minutes and then it was into the baggage hall.

Ten minutes passed and my bag appeared, it was looking good.

Next problem no money for the metro, I needed 3rmb. I had to leave the metro station to find a bank. I took out 100 rmb and returned to the metro. The machine won’t take notes that big….. Fuck.

I go to customer service and get it changed. I have my ticket. The clock says I have thirty minutes till the train leaves.

I arrive at the railway station and it’s a rush to get to the departure lounge.

We all squeeze onto the escalator

At the second one someone tries to push in front of me, I stop him in his tracks and get a dirty look. Fuck him I’m running late too.

Through to security, we have to wait for thirty seconds and it seems like an eternity.

I’m through and find my platform.

Number 25

Ten mins to spare, not bad but the sweat is running off of me.

Next time check the flight time and give me self another half hour me thinks.

I wanted to get it into the fresh air and get away from the city for a bit and to be honest you really don’t have to go too far to find fresh air in Hong Kong.

I got onto the metro and headed for some place that I don’t really remember the name of but there was a bus there waiting to take me and others to Sheko.

I really like the double decker buses in Hong Kong because you get a great view and they are comfortable and cool. The views you get as you climb up the mountains are just stunning.

This walk is supposed to be a little difficult but after a short ascent waking up a well worn path you will soon be reward for your efforts.

Today I was lucky to come across a young couple having their wedding photographs taken by professional photographers and they had gone all out and brought up traditional clothing for them to pose in and they looked great. What an amazing backdrop.

I was walking back to my hotel the other night as you do in Hong Kong and I came across this busker playing funky jazz music and it was great, the only problem that I could see was the noise from the traffic below, but I stood and listened for a while but I’m not sure the Chinese really got it.

And so it’s once more into the great blue yonder as three months have passed in the blink of an eye. I’m staying in Hong Kong for two full days this time and will hopefully do a bit of hiking if I can in one of the many islands here. I spoke to the young lady at the airport and she gave me some info on where to go.

Just now I’m in the bus heading to Nathan on the island and I’ll check into my tiny hotel which is so small that I can’t swing that cat, I think I told you that before. I’ll then pop out to buy breakfast and then it’s an early night for me as I’m knackered and me eyes are really tired. The weather has changed and it’s become cooler in Suzhou and the pollution has also been higher since the humidity dropped and so a quiet night is on the cards and then I’ll go exploring tomorrow.

Sissi travelled to the west of China, almost to the ends of the country and she brought me back some Kazakhstan chocolate………how good is that?

Yesterday I went to a Toastmaster’s event at Yi Garden and before the event kicked off I went for a wander around this lovely wee garden and I also got to hear this lovely young lady play the Guzheng.

Click Here to listen