Tea Record

16 Oct 2010 - Sri Lanka is known for its internal conflict, culture and beautiful beaches, but it is also one of the world's leading tea producers. It has now become the scene of one of the world's most bizarre records - the largest cup of tea ever. A giant red mug was filled with more than 4,500 liters of water, 64 kilos of tea, 875 kilos of malted milk and 160 kilos of sugar. It was about three times the size of the previous record, which was set last year. The tea was driven around in Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital, and handed out to locals in small plastic cups. The tea came from Sri Lanka's own estates, and was brewed in a giant urn in a way that is popular on the subcontinent: with lots of sugar and malted milk. A representative from Guinness World Records certified the attempt to set a world record.

Cebu Pacific

15 Oct 2010 - Philippines budget airline Cebu Pacific flew a second regular flight with dancing cabin crew this week. This time they used men instead of women after criticism that the original stunt was sexist. The original dance, videotaped by a passenger, became a YouTube sensation a week ago, with a safety demonstration using female cabin staff gyrating to Lady Gaga. The objective was to let passengers pay attention to the security briefing, as most passengers take the information for granted or doze off. Passengers seemed to enjoy the new vibe - and they paid attention. But several Philippines legislators and the union for the country's flag carrier Philippines Airlines said it was demeaning to women. Cebu Pacific has now shown that men can dance too.

199 Million Vehicles

15 Oct 2010 - The number of vehicles on mainland roads has hit 199 million, as was yesterday reported in the SCMP. The 199 million include more than 85 million cars, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Public Security yesterday (it is a bit unexpected that this Ministry made the statement - the Chinese leadership must be concerned about the dangers of all those vehicles on the roads?). The Ministry's definition of motor vehicles includes motorcycles, tractors, trucks and cars. A total of 205 million mainlanders have learned to drive (or at least they have passed the test). Of these, 144 million have learned to drive cars, the Ministry said. The number of vehicles on the mainland is increasing at a rate of more than 20 million a year and the number of drivers is growing at more than 22 million a year. China overtook the United States to become the world's largest carmaker and market last year.

Quote of the Day (23)

14 Oct 2010 - Today the world celebrates the miracle rescue of 33 trapped miners in Chile. The miners emerged like clockwork in their Phoenix 2 rescue capsule, happily embracing wives, children, mothers and the Chilean President Pinera. The men were trapped for 69 days in a chambers 625 meters underground. It was touching to see the happy faces of the miners, and it was sometimes amazing how fit and healthy they looked after their ordeal. Rescued miner Mario Sepulveda said "I have been with God and I have been with the devil. I fought between the two. I seized the hand of God, it was the best hand. I always knew God would get us out of there.". Tribute also goes to the Chilean and international rescue team, who did an amazing job.

London scam

14 Oct 2010 - It has happened to most of us: at a certain moment in life you fall the victim of a thief, are pick-pocketed or otherwise cheated. Three Brits found a very cunning way to scam Japanese tourists, but have now been jailed. It was reported that the group particularly targeted Japanese or other Asian tourist and managed to trick more than 100 innocent victims into their scam. The group targeted tourists at attractions like the British Museum and the Oxford Street shopping area. One, a woman, would pose as a tourist and ask a genuine visitor for directions or to take a photo for her. Other gang members would then approach and pretend to be police officers and demand details of the tourist identity and credit cards. The woman would comply and encourage the genuine tourists to do so as well. The group would then take the cards and withdraw cash or make expensive purchases. Be warned.

Monkey Chasers

13 Oct 2010 - A few days ago (see 3 Oct 2010) I shared how monkeys assisted the Delhi police in helping chasing thieving monkeys away. Maybe this is something for Taiwan. A Government-sponsored programme to boost employment has been set up and 'monkey chasers' are now being recruited. The programme is set up in Kaohsiung city in southern Taiwan, and a salary of NT 17,600 (HKD 4,420) a month is offered for staff charged keeping the primates from developing too disturbing behavioral patterns. "The monkey chasers will tell people not to feed wild monkeys, as that will lead them to develop abnormal behavior such as grabbing people's food or invading homes. Maybe this is also something for Hong Kong's Tsuen Wan Country Park?

Malaysian addicts

12 Oct 2010 - So ... , in a few days I will move to Malaysia. What to say about my new homeland? The BBC published the results of a study that indicate that Malaysians are the worlds most serious social networks addicts. The BBC reported that a TNS report revealed that - on average - Malaysians have the highest number of "friends" on online social networks. The report found that Malaysian have on average 233 friends, with fellow Asian nation Japan at the bottom of the list with only 29 friends. China also scored low with only 69 friends, but then again China has a lot of people who are not yet active on the internet. The TNS report also revealed that Malaysians spend on average nine hours per week on social network platforms - another world record. Malaysians spend more time on Facebook, Twitter and others than on e-mail, and the possibility to have mobile internet connection greatly enhanced their participation. I just checked and I have more than 350 Facebook friends, so I will fit in nicely.

Mc Wedding

12 Oct 2010 - More about weddings. From 1st January selected McDonalds restaurants in Hong Kong will offer a wedding banquet service. Instead of traditional - and pricey - banquet food like shark's fin soup, abalone or roasted pork skin,  McDonald's Hong Kong will offer a fast food variety of French fries for starters, sundaes and milkshakes for dessert, and strictly soft drinks only for the wedding toasts. Showpiece is the wedding cake, which is specially made with apple pies, burgers of your choice and even filet-o-fish. Ronald MacDonald is available to increase the happiness (or horror) of the moment. "Traditionally weddings use cherries for the newlyweds to eat together and kiss. We will have French Fries for them to kiss", says Helen Cheung , director of corporate communications at McDonald's Hong Kong.

10/10/10

11 Oct 2010 - Tens of thousands of couples went to their marriage registry on the mainland yesterday as they did not want to miss the once in a century 'lucky date'. More than 9,000 tied the knot on the 'triple lucky' day in Beijing alone, with some having to wait in line from 1h30 am onwards. Registration officials say there is a growing trend to pick wedding dates that match auspicious numbers, particularly dates where all the numbers collide. Some couples even negotiated for the 10h10 am spot. In many cities authorities set out special measures to cope with the additional work pressure, as the workload was sometimes more than ten times compared to average sundays. In Xian, where 3,000 couples wanted to get married, authorities stopped divorce proceedings to give way to the happy marriages. Hong Kong also had its share of lucky date marriages, but things were not as crazy as in the mainland.

Shooting fugitives

11 Oct 2010 - People do all kinds of crazy things for entertainment and there is money in practically everything. These two rather general statements to introduce the story about German student who has created a computer game giving players a taste of life as an East German border guard shooting political fugitives fleeing to the West during the cold war. The game caused outrage with victims' relatives and in German society. Those of us who grew up in the cold war era or who have visited Berlin's checkpoint Charlie or other border crossings can empathize. Jens Stober, the student involved, was not impressed: "It is a novel way of encouraging young people to take an interest and coming to terms with recent German history". This fall Germany celebrates the 21st anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall. There must be other ways to commemorate than silly computer games.

John Lennon's Birthday

10 Oct 2010 - Yesterday a monument to remember John Lennon has been unveiled in Liverpool by his first wife Cynthia and son Julian on what would have been the Beatles' 70th birthday. The statue is intended to act as a shrine for fans who want to pay tribute to Lennon in his home city. In the shape of a globe with doves flying above, it is also designed to be monument for peace. The global birthday celebrations will include a performance by his widow Yoko Ono in Reykyavik, Iceland. In New York, Lennon's original band the Quarrymen will headline a concert and fans are gathering to pay tribute to the star in Central Park. The area in the park is known as Strawberry Fields, near the spot where Lennon was shot in 1980.

Kimchi crisis

10 Oct 2010 - South Koreans love their kimchi. Kimchi is a local dish made of fermented vegetables, mostly cabbage, with varied seasonings. However, the price for Chinese cabbage has recently soared. Not too long ago 2,5 kgs of cabbage did 2,480 won (HKD 16.87) on the local markets, but now one needs to pay up to 11,500 won. The rising prices have resulted in a kimchi crisis. Company cafetarias have reduced the amount they offer workers and some restaurants charge for refills - which was unheard of until recently. Chinese cabbage needs steady, cool weather to grow ell. But this year's rain and heat has ruined many crops in China. The farmers are suffering valuable income, but the South Koreans are suffering an identity crisis.