Quarantine 2 The Cell Inhospitality Gangster Films Roast Goose and Farce of Enforcement and Circulation

Click pics to enlarge. A Room with a View?

Letter from Hong Kong (20-11): doctorjohn in Quarantine (2)

Life in Quarantine is just a slightly better version of Prison. Here I am incarcerated by the city where I grew up and spent so much of my life in, yet never have felt entirely comfortable with...

Day 1 The Hotel hails itself as being in Causeway Bay, the Shijuku of Hong Kong. The reality is, it is at the edge of it, in a somewhat dilapidated area, separated from the trendier area by a highway ramp. It is at one with the adjacent and older Wanchai district. Behind the hotel is a wet market and at night time, dai pai dong's (common folk's outdoor dining).

The entrances are barely visible and the lobby is very small. At check-in, the clerk told me that I may want to consider getting a data card as the wifi is burdened by the high occupancy. My demands are not high, so I didn't take the advice. I saw at least 2 other check-in's. One was a HK woman checking in her Filipino maid. The other was a mother from Shenzhen checking in with her daughter. Apparently the youngster is going to study here via virtual learning (an option in some schools). After check-in, I didn't go to my room immediately. I went to the back streets, bought some fruits and beer and took out a roast duck rice. Then I went back and up to my room, not to emerge in 2 weeks.

With the weather still under the influence of a typhoon, the room was a little dark. As I knew the room would be small, I requested twin beds so as to put my things on one of them. First impression was not favorable, as the room is dark hued, made more so by the weather. The decoration is curious: dark patterned wallpaper, chandelier, a bay window. Not much of a view. I checked the wifi, a little slow but acceptable.

Before long, my HK phone rang. It was shidi, whose system I had featured in the blog previously. I asked how did he know I am back. Well, apparently my friend WSS, whose system I had featured too, read the blog and informed him.

The hotel is seriously remiss in hospitality. The staff would not take deliveries up to the floors, so I was told to rely on friends. There is a meal plan, for HKD 200 a day, one gets 3 meals, but lunch and dinner are all pasta, for all seven days of the week. This is ridiculous, and I resolved to order deliveries. Many restaurants deliver to the floor, and that makes the hotel's policy inexcusable. The real problem is I was made to feel like an untouchable. They don't want you, but they want your business. The funny thing is, all the people checking in have tested negative. China does better than this: they would take care of the meals.

After sorting out my things, I took a shower and started my Happy Hour. A friend left me some wine at the door (contact-less). I thank her so much! I consumed the food, not bad. The local English channel carried the entire Presidential Debate. I watched some of it before Jet Lag overcame me and I slumbered off.

Day 2 Typical of my jet lag, I woke up past midnight. There is not much choice with the TV, but (fortunately) there is a Chinese movie channel. The 2 HK gangster films I watched, The Sharp Shooter and The Bund II (神鎗手, 新上海灘) were pretty good. Though not top tier, they are still much better than most of their Hollywood counterparts. This is a genre HK films excel in. Compared to the average western action film, there is more in-depth character development (especially brotherhood) and more sense of a real locale and real happening.

Except for being confined, I felt much as I did before I moved back to NYC in 2018. Re-acclimatization was faster than I thought it would be. Perhaps my world has become too small and my workings too routine that it makes no difference where I am.

Farce I: Circulation (I) Some time in the morning I smelled coffee. It came through the air conditioning. Tell me, is this quarantine safe? I am afraid it actually poses risks for us.

It was a sunnier day. As the sun came up, I felt a little more acclimatized to the room. Resignation? Maybe. Stockholm Syndrome? Perhaps. Writing, HK movies, every day is going to be the same. Like in NYC, I watched some TV news and on the laptop went through more news and my emails. Yes, it's going to be the same everyday. NML and Spotify both work. I connected my Meridian Explorer and Grado SR80e and streamed for a while. But I tired quickly of being tethered to all that, especially since I sometimes sit on the bay window and sometimes on the bed. Lunch was Chow Fun with Beef.

Farce II Non-Existing Enforcement (I) Around noon time, I heard two ladies conversing in Tagalog (Filipino language) outside my door. No one is supposed to be outside the room, so I spoke from behind the door: "You know you are not supposed to be talking outside!" They exchanged several brief words and than went back to their rooms. 2 banging doors, one immediately left of my room and another farther away on the right. I called the hotline number on my Stay Home Safe App. The lady was nice but told me they are only responsible for the wrist band (see Quarantine I). I asked her to contact other departments. She called back and advised me to call the hotel or the Police! I asked her whether she belongs to the Health Department. The Answer was she worked under some kind of a Technology Department. Totally ill thought out plan, and zero enforcement (typical of much of the HK laws). No wonder previously there were people who just got out and party.

Day 3 was not much different, but it was enlivened by shidi's delivery of some fruits and a deluxe Roast Goose rice dish from a currently popular eatery 祺哥. Distinction: roast goose is more expensive and rarer than duck. Note: You can buy Roast Meats by the whole, halves or quarters; for one person you can get a smaller portion with rice, but the cut is up to the carver; you can specify a coveted part, like shidi did for the leg, for a premium. A smoky taste that veers off the traditional. I cannot thank him and his wife enough for their hospitality. But...

Farce III Non-Existing Enforcement (II) In the morning I heard some repetitive noise outside my door. I opened the door and saw a Filipina (likely one of the protagonists of the day before) doing ballet like stretching (one leg raised high) in the corridor! Well, even behind the mask, she looked cute but, given the circumstances...I just asked her to go back to her room.

Day 4 Article finished while watching John Woo's iconic A Better Tomorrow (英雄本色). An uneventful day if not for:

Farce IV Circulation (II) As I was about to send this article, I noticed the smell of cigarette smoke coming through the air-con. Maybe my Filipina ballerina neighbor? I hope she stays negative...

Aaaarrgh...