Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Ten Years After
Ten year ago, I visited Budapest when I attended the International Congress of Immunology. At that time, Budapest was still under the communist party. In July 2005, I visited Budapest again as I attended another meeting. Do I notice any significant changes?
In 1996, Budapest was a quiet city. The buildings were dark. There wwere not many cars on the roads, but I could see a lot of tourists. Hotels and food were cheap. Budapest at that time provided one of the best public transport system. I enjoyed walking around without any fear. I would say it was a very beautiful city with wide and clean boulevards.
In 2005, I still could not see any new buildings in the downtown area. That makes the city core in harmony, and it is as beautiful as before. I enjoy the old buildings very much especially with those with sculptures and high ceiling. Those buildings remind me of those in the Central District and Nathan Road Districts in Hong Kong in the 60s. However there are quite a few graffiti on those buildings. I think it is because there is a general discontent in the society, as the tour guide pointed out the gap between the poor and rich is getting wider and wider.
It is still very safe walking around the city at night. Tourists are still plentiful, and there are new and modern buildings and shopping mall outside the city core.
I still enjoy Budapest very much and I think it is still a very beautiful city. They clean up the old buildings and they look so magnificient and majesty. They do not mix old and new buildings. It is different from Vienna where they built those new buildings among the olds. As a result, the city looks discoherent with a sense of confusion.
I don't see much changes after 10 years in Budapest. It is different from Hong Kong and Shanghai. I could not recognise Hong Kong now if I visit her. My familiar buildings had gone long time ago, and my footsteps were completely erased. As a result, my feeling of my breeding place is getting weaker and weaker.
I think the Hungarians are smart in preserving the old and empirical buildings in the downtown core. They give a very strong sense of belongings to those overseas Hungarians when they visit their homeland.
In 1996, Budapest was a quiet city. The buildings were dark. There wwere not many cars on the roads, but I could see a lot of tourists. Hotels and food were cheap. Budapest at that time provided one of the best public transport system. I enjoyed walking around without any fear. I would say it was a very beautiful city with wide and clean boulevards.
In 2005, I still could not see any new buildings in the downtown area. That makes the city core in harmony, and it is as beautiful as before. I enjoy the old buildings very much especially with those with sculptures and high ceiling. Those buildings remind me of those in the Central District and Nathan Road Districts in Hong Kong in the 60s. However there are quite a few graffiti on those buildings. I think it is because there is a general discontent in the society, as the tour guide pointed out the gap between the poor and rich is getting wider and wider.
It is still very safe walking around the city at night. Tourists are still plentiful, and there are new and modern buildings and shopping mall outside the city core.
I still enjoy Budapest very much and I think it is still a very beautiful city. They clean up the old buildings and they look so magnificient and majesty. They do not mix old and new buildings. It is different from Vienna where they built those new buildings among the olds. As a result, the city looks discoherent with a sense of confusion.
I don't see much changes after 10 years in Budapest. It is different from Hong Kong and Shanghai. I could not recognise Hong Kong now if I visit her. My familiar buildings had gone long time ago, and my footsteps were completely erased. As a result, my feeling of my breeding place is getting weaker and weaker.
I think the Hungarians are smart in preserving the old and empirical buildings in the downtown core. They give a very strong sense of belongings to those overseas Hungarians when they visit their homeland.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Canadian Summer
After the long and cold winter, and the wet, dirty and chilly spring, summer finally arrives on June 22nd officially. Early summer can be very deceptive. Sometimes the temperature may drop to single digit. The first sign of summer in Canada is that people begin wearing shorts even it is in single digit temperature. Then people are talking about camping, fishing, hunting and taking vacations. Canadians love summers partly because we have long winters. And we always complain that summers are too short. We make use of every minute in the weekends. Quite a few people have summer homes, or called cottages or camps. Cities people go to their cottages in the weekends, BBQ everynight, drinking beers, doing water sports, or just unwinding in the peace and quiet surroundings with sparkling lakes and woods.
Canada is a cold country but don't be fooled by that. Our summers can be very hot. The temperature can rise to 35C , but it usualy lasts only a week or so. With the thread of global warming, Canadian summers are getting warmer and warmer. In fact I find it too hot. As a result most of our cars and homes have air-conditioners.
In Northern Ontario, we could not swim in the lakes until early August because the lake water takes a longer time to warm up. But then the temperature will drop again in September. Canadian summers end unofficaially on the first Sunday of September. It is because schools and universities start again after the Labor day (the first Monday in September).
Summers in Canada are just beautiful with warm and clean air, green pasteurs and forests, and sparkling lakes.
Fishing is my favourite summer sport. I just enjoy the fresh water and green landscapes surrounding me, even I can not catch a small fish. Do you still remember one of Au Young Sau's articles we studied in high school? - A drunk old man does not really care for the wine but for the beauty of water and mountains surrounding him.
Canada is a cold country but don't be fooled by that. Our summers can be very hot. The temperature can rise to 35C , but it usualy lasts only a week or so. With the thread of global warming, Canadian summers are getting warmer and warmer. In fact I find it too hot. As a result most of our cars and homes have air-conditioners.
In Northern Ontario, we could not swim in the lakes until early August because the lake water takes a longer time to warm up. But then the temperature will drop again in September. Canadian summers end unofficaially on the first Sunday of September. It is because schools and universities start again after the Labor day (the first Monday in September).
Summers in Canada are just beautiful with warm and clean air, green pasteurs and forests, and sparkling lakes.
Fishing is my favourite summer sport. I just enjoy the fresh water and green landscapes surrounding me, even I can not catch a small fish. Do you still remember one of Au Young Sau's articles we studied in high school? - A drunk old man does not really care for the wine but for the beauty of water and mountains surrounding him.
