Hong Kong: There Be Dragons

And now for some regional humor. Time Out Hong Kong recently created an insightful map of the Special Administrative Region (SAR). This should explain a little of what-happens-where in one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. Click to enlarge the image above.

The island at left, home of "Buddha, Buffalo and Boars" is Lantau, where a giant Buddha sculpture looks out from a hilltop. The Passengers visited in 2009. The island just above is the international airport. You get to the monastery and sculpture via a cable car that departs from the remote suburb of Tung Chung Town, the area of Lantau for "People Who Have Given up on Life."

Up north the Angry Villagers live next to the mainland boomtown of Shenzen. They are even further north than where more centrally located  Hong Kongers go to the racecourse – there be "Horses." For comparison, here's a map that's a little less atmospheric and names some actual districts. This comes from the local census department, where you can look up all sorts of other data and actual facts.

An Aptly Named Owl

The spectacled owl at the London Zoo is, of course, named Elton. More pictures of zookeepers checking up on their charges at the Guardian.

Urban Density of Singapore

If the entire population of earth was squeezed into a city as dense as [blank], how much land would it need Click the image to enlarge. Source: Per Square Mile.

I have been known to complain about the suburban nature of life in Singapore, especially when we lived near the malls of Novena. Among air-conditioned palaces of commerce complete with multi-story parking garages one misses the thrill of discovery that comes from strolling along the streets from neighborhood to neighborhood. Here in a wealthy city-state where many families own cars and the weather makes it unpleasant to walk too far outdoors pedestrians often get second-tier status. The island can seem like a boring, sprawling landscape to someone familiar with the walkable streets of Manhattan and Central London.

However, as the above graphic from Tim de Chant at Per Square Mile illustrates, Singapore houses a population of 5.35 million on less than 700 square kilometers, making it more dense than London or the five boroughs of New York City. As a modern city the urban fabric simply has better provision for automobile traffic, and the government tries hard to ensure that cars don't overrun the island.

Actually, the population density of Singapore is even more intense than expressed by Per Square Mile, as Tim de Chant acknowledges in comments below his post, because the island maintains a number of nature reserves, reservoirs, and military installations that have not been planted with the ubiquitous government-sponsored, tenant-owned HDB apartment towers. The map above from the CIA Factbook shows built-up areas in grey. The Factobook also provide this satellite view, which shows distribution of settlement.

Japanese Cookies

Couque D'asses cookies on the shelf in Singapore.

Spotted this box of cookies at a Japanese food specialty store underneath MBFC a few months back. The double entendre is probably most quickly apparent to Americans, but I think everyone can join the fun, really. I have no ability to read Japanese so I couldn't possibly comment on the ingredients.

Mashed Potato Machine

ZOMG! I have been in Europe and the US for most of June and July. I totally missed the introduction of mashed potato machines to Singapore. They are in 7-Eleven stores around the island. $1.00 buys a cup of steaming Maggi-brand instant potatoes topped with gravy. I'm sure a device that spouts hot gravy poses no hazards to customers whatsoever. Strangely in our local 7-Eleven on Erskine Road the button for barbecue-flavored potatoes looks like it receives more attention than its regular-flavored counterpart.

At 7-Eleven in Singapore I can buy an ice cream, settle my electric bill, top up my mobile phone, and pay for Jetstar flights I reserved online. Now I can go there for nearly palatable mashed potatoes at the push of a button.

Missouri Float Trip

Canoes on the Current River in Shannon County, Missouri.

The Passengers went to Missouri in July because J's brother got married in Columbia. After the celebrations we headed south into the Ozarks for some outdoor recreation. Southern Missouri is a beautiful karst landscape dominated by forested bluffs, riddled with caves, and laced with spring-fed streams. It's a great place for gentle canoe trips, and there are few better streams than the Current River, part of the protected Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

The Current River in the morning.

For weeks temperatures have been unbearable in the Midwest with routine highs around 104 F/40 C during our visit. Fortunately, our river was fed by springs with water temperatures below 70 F. A quick dip in the water always kept us cool during a ten-mile float downstream. There are more details and pictures after the jump.

"National Night" in Singapore, says Mentos

It's a viral marketing video fabricated to entice bloggers and news services, but it is funny. Family warning: This video does explain how babies are made. 

In fact, making babies is the entire joke because Singapore, which turns 46 years-old on 9 August 2012, has very publicly been wringing its hands about low birthrates for a while now. Last year after learning that the total fertility rate for 2010 stood at only 1.16 – nowhere near the replacement level of 2.1 – Lee Kuan Yew (Prime Minister of Singapore for its first 25 years) famously warned that an aging Singapore would face Japanese-style stagnation after the burgeoning economic expansion that marked the country's history since independence. Mentos has given the nation's adults a new civic duty.

Update (8 Aug 2012): James Fallows one of our favorite American writers about China and East Asia has picked up on the ad sensation for the Atlantic. Hat tip: The Dish.

Returning to (ir)regular service

I finished my PhD. Maybe now I can think about adding some posts to the blog again. Stay tuned.