As I See It

Late March in Hong Kong brings clammy air, frequent drizzles and the gradual return of the subtropical heat. It is also marked by a spike in beer consumption and hotel room rates, caused not by the arrival of spring but a spectacle known as the Hong Kong Sevens. The three day rugby tournament is much more than just an international sporting event. To expatriates living in Hong Kong, it is a celebration bigger than Christmas and New Year . It is a cross between the Super Bowl, Halloween and Oktoberfest. It is Mardi Gras without the parade and Spring Break with bam bam sticks. The annual carnival fills the Hong Kong Stadium with cheers, beer breath and spontaneous eruptions of song and dance. That's why they call it a contact sport Rugby sevens, as the name would suggest, involves fewer players than regular rugby. Each game consists merely of two seven-minute halves. Think of it as beach volleyball or five-a-side soccer. To prove that size doesn’t matter, rugby sevens...

It is said that the best things in life are free. Children’s smiles, glorious sunsets and the soothing sounds of ocean waves. Of all the simple pleasures in life, sleeping is the most beneficial to our bodies and minds. It is also the most underrated. When alpha cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York fall over each other vying for the dubious title of "The City that Doesn’t Sleep," it is the citizens who pay the price. Our mounting workload, overdeveloped social life and that black hole called the Internet all contribute to our sleep deficit. Every now and then when we get to stay in bed for a couple of extra hours on a lazy Sunday morning, we are reminded what a real treat those forty winks are. City that never sleeps An average person in Hong Kong sleeps 6.6 hours a day. That means for every one of us who gets the recommended eight hours of z’s, there is a poor soul scraping by with just five. While some blame it on the Asian work culture, others point to...

My big sister Ada is one of the bubbliest people I know. She has a contagious laugh and takes a genuine interest in people. A consummate hostess, she loves entertaining and throws elaborate dinner parties , the kind that are lifted straight out of a Martha Stewart magazine. On paper, the forty-something mother of two has it all: a loving family, a well paying job and a comfortable life. It is therefore all the more shocking when she told me recently that she is suffering from depression. Depression is often a lonely battle It all began shortly after she got a promotion at work. At first it was the usual urban angst: headaches, low energy and erratic eating habits – signs that she had reached a higher rung on the corporate ladder. Then her mood swings began. At home, she would sit idly in a corner and cry without provocation. Things she used to enjoy, like... _______________________ Read the rest of this essay in No City for Slow Men , available at major bookstores in ...

America is a bizarre country. To be an American — or to live in America — is to accept a few things that defy common sense. For starters, pizza is considered a “vegetable” under federal law. Two tablespoons of tomato paste on the dough is enough to make the pie healthy enough to be served at every public school cafeteria. Speaking of health, emergency rooms across the country routinely turn down trauma patients who fail to produce proof of health insurance. Facing skyrocketing healthcare costs , the uninsured are left for dead and the insured are worried sick about rising deductibles and annual premiums. Not bizarre enough? Here's another good one: gun shootings have become so commonplace that the evening news no longer reports them unless they are deemed a “shooting rampage.” And each time after a massacre, gun enthusiasts line up outside Wal-Mart to stock up on assault weapons for fear of tougher gun laws. That’s right, in America you can buy a military-style semi-automatic rifl...

One of the advantages of living in the 21st Century is that we get to choose the way we live our lives. When it comes to love and marriage, some stick to the white picket fence, while others cohabit without ever tying the knot. Still others stay blissfully single for life, free as birds. Same sex couples, ever the scourge of conservative society, can now legally marry in eleven countries and several American states. It is therefore all the more surprising that, in our age of live-and-let-live sexual liberation, one segment of society continues to be stigmatized by a stubborn social prejudice: married couples without children. No longer the only way to happiness I am not talking about infertile people who can’t bear children — they get their fair share of pitiful looks from friends along with unsolicited advice on how to raise their sperm count. I am referring to married folks who, for financial, emotional or philosophical reasons, decide to stay child-free. While no one ...

Four years ago, I wrote an article titled New Year in November about Barack Obama's historic victory. That's what it felt like — a new beginning, a rebirth – even to a blogger half the world away. Four years flew by in the blink of an eye and the president was up for re-election this month. This time I wanted to be there — in America, in the thick of things. I planned my annual home leave in the second week of November and arrived in New York just days after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast. Expecting the vote count to last all night, I stocked up on junk food in my hotel room in Midtown Manhattan. I had my laptop showing the electoral map and a calculator to tally the votes. I toggled back-and-forth between CNN and Fox News on the flat-screen TV while posting the latest election results on Facebook. I was a ready for a showdown. New Year in November (Reprise) I’m not an American citizen and so I can’t actually vote. Even if I were, my vote wouldn’t have ma...

It’s 9:30 on a Monday night. You are waiting for the bus to take you home after another long, dreary day in the office. Your head droops to the side, your shoulders slump, and your leather briefcase sags with the weight of existential angst. The woman in front of you pulls a soggy pastry out of a wrinkled Starbucks bag and takes a bite. You think to yourself: I can make a better one and sell it for half the price. The dream of running your own bakery and wallowing in patisserie bliss once again rushes to your head. No more 14-hour days, no more suits and ties, no more crowded buses and microwave dinners. Leather briefcase be damned! That sinking feeling What you just read is a familiar scene to many salaried men and women. Tired of the ball and chain of a desk job, you fantasize about a “Plan B” to take you out of the rat race and put your God-given talent to use. If baking is not your thing, then it may be designing jewelry, becoming a wedding photographer or running an ...

I had been sitting at my table for 15 minutes, with neither a menu nor a glass of water. For the fifth time I put up my hand and waved at the waitress who pretended she hadn’t seen me. When our eyes finally met, I gave her a big smile and mouthed the word carte. She gritted her teeth and said: “Monsieur, je n’ai que deux mains.” Translation: “I only have two hands.” Service without a smile To many frequent travelers to Europe, my rather unpleasant dining experience at the Parisian restaurant is all too familiar. From store clerks in Rome to bus drivers in Geneva and airport security in London , customer service personnel in Europe are trained to be rude... _______________________ Read the rest of this essay in No City for Slow Men , available at major bookstores in Hong Kong and at Blacksmith Books . No City for Slow Men

Dear Readers, I am now a "resident blogger" with SCMP.com  focusing on lifestyle, travel, social issues and current affairs. Future postings will be fed to the newspaper's website. That means followers of my op-ed blog  As I See It  and my review blog  The Real Deal  will be able to read my articles either here or at SCMP.com . See also the author's page . A sample post The South China Morning Post , Hong Kong's leading English language daily newspaper, has completely revamped its website with mobile versions for iPhone and iPad. The new site was launched at midnight on 31 August 2012. Subscribe today! The author's page

From New York and Tokyo to Shanghai and Hong Kong, single women in big cities around the world are united in their gripe about being luckless in love. Educated, intelligent and financially independent, they excel in everything in life except for the one thing that really matters to them: finding Mr. Right. The twin goals of marriage and motherhood – things that women a generation ago took for granted – have become ever elusive. Cinderella and Snow White might have had their fair share of heartache before they got hitched, but all the chores and poisoned apples in Fairyland pale in comparison to the blood, sweat and tears of the single woman in the real world. For who wants to die alone in a musty apartment with five cats and a ball of yarn? They make singlehood look so cool Ever since Sex and the City glamorized the life of the bachelorette, being female, single and over 35 has never been so cool. But behind the martinis and witty one-liners, the girl power and lipstic...