And Now For The Weather

Funny thing, it’s humid here. Actually, it has been humid (read above 90%) all week. This isn’t all that surprising to me, as I have lived in some rather muggy environments prior to Hong Kong, most recently, Boston. This is different though. Boston’s average humidity peaks in September at 77%, but Hong Kong’s peak is a full 10% higher, and it achieves that figure four months out of the year (it has average humidity above 80% eight months out of the year). The humidity in Hong Kong runs your life.

The weather here has four seasons, just like many other parts of the world; only, Hong Kong has different parts. Season #1, Winter, lasts for about three months – Dec-Feb – and it mostly consists of cold, dry nights. Season #2 is the Rainy season. Beginning in March and continuing through May, the Rainy season is characterized by … do I even need to tell you? The 3^rd season is the Typhoon season, covering the middle months of the year. During this period, Hong Kong receives the highest amounts of rainfall, peaking in June and ever so gradually declining to August. To help you understand the daily realities of Typhoon season, locals advised us to stock up on DVD’s beforehand so you can stay busy when the sideways rain makes it unsafe to leave your apartment for a day or two. Season #4 is, well, Rainy season #2. It basically rains for another three months, until the typical wet weather system collapses out of breath and goes somewhere else in the Pacific to recuperate.

I mentioned the suggestion that we procure DVD’s to forestall homebound boredom, but that is not the end of the weather related advice we have received. A friend described the means she uses for fighting off Hong Kong’s absurd humidity. She and her husband started by putting dehumidifiers in every room of the house to keep the walls and upholstery from developing mildew. When the paper started growing stuff, she bought a scanner for important documents and gave up trying to save most physical copies. When they had guests over and noticed the extra bedding in the bottom of a drawer had grown things as well, they started putting charcoal packets in every drawer. Just for good measure, the two of them put charcoal in the closets too.

Reader, I’m not sure where you are as you read this, but chances are it is less humid than here. I tried to find places in the US rivaling Hong Kong’s humidity, but the highest was still 2% lower than Hong Kong’s annual average of 81.83%. I began by telling you this humidity was a funny thing. The funny part to me is that as I look out my window, two things catch my eye: first, the next hill from me is obstructed from view because of the fog/cloud/virga; second, some poor soul a floor above me is hanging a shirt out to dry.

"Were Those Cops?"

It did not seem strange to find our favorite video store with the gate only half open when we approached. After all, we had arrived before 6pm. The strange part was the odd green ribbon draped across the doorway and the man loitering out front. Assuming the loiterer to be in the know, we asked when the shop would open today but the man said nothing. A discreet smile found its way to a corner of his mouth as he pointed over his shoulder at the dodgy looking green ribbon. Fluttering in the wind as we approached, the words on the ribbon had been hidden from us, but they soon gave away the inside joke the man had enjoyed: “Customs and Excise Department.”

Reader, Hong Kong is a great place to live and this is one more reason why. Allow me to set the stage. When I lived in the US I knew a lot of people (too numerous to count, let alone mention here) who downloaded music, movies, and programs from the smorgasbord that is the Internet, but I only knew a few who bought their pirated items from an actual physical vendor. Only on street corners in New York’s East Village and LA’s Chinatown did I encounter the stereotypical guy with DVD’s laid out on a blanket. Even there, the proprietors were shifty-eyed, and vigilant for a thief or a cop. For me, I enjoyed watching movies for free, but I just couldn’t get past the whole breaking the law.

Fast-forward two years to an after dinner walk in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay area. Seemingly by chance, as all well-chosen retail shops are, we found a video store, selling entire seasons of American TV shows as well as classic movies. This was a gem because we had searched high and low these and not only did we find them, we found them for cheap. You could by the first four seasons of House for $300 HKD, all of 24 for $350, and the complete works of Akira Kurosawa for $200. This must be too good to be true, we thought, as we hurried home to pop in 24. But it was not; the DVD’s played fine.

The next time we were in Causeway, we made sure to stop by the store only to find it under investigation by Hong Kong Customs and their little green ribbons. As we hurriedly walked away, I kind of felt like a junkie sent away by the undercover drug dealer. Nothing like asking a cop when they will leave so I can go back to purchasing my counterfeit items. Needless to say, we were a bit embarrassed but mostly amused.

The best part of the story is that after spending the morning walking through the Hong Kong Park, we found ourselves in Causeway, so we thought we would check to see what ever happened to that shop. We rounded the corner, passed the guy selling roasted chestnuts and there it was, bustling and humming as if nothing had happened. When we stepped inside, I wondered if the seemingly bootleg copies of shows would have been replaced by more expensive and likely more legitimate movies, but their selection had not changed one iota. I was still able to buy 18 films for just $248 HKD.

I realize the legal theorist in me may ache at the thought of this, but the citizen in me rejoices that the authorities have seen fit to allow this establishment to stay open. So if you’re ever in Hong Kong and you would like to borrow a movie, just give me a call. I have every movie Will Smith has made since Bad Boys.