Highway to health

I must be feeling better, because Krusty put the moan count up to three within just 30 minutes of me waking up this morning (he was quite enjoying the flu-induced nag-free zone), the most significant of which included me explaining why getting dressed was simply impossible - my body has turned into to one of those wibble wobble dolls, and anything I wear seems to point out the fact that my derriere has decided to generously round out the angles of my bump.

In any case, I can't possibly spend another day in bed, so I am back in the office and (almost) glad of it - the weather is absolutely perfect at the moment, and it's (almost) a pleasure to get up and experience the mild breeze, soft sunshine and relatively low pollution index. It (almost) makes me fall in love with dried seafood street again... Although the upcoming rise in temperatures, humidity and therefore smells will soon sort that out.

But that's not the only reason I'm whistling this morning - the taxi ride to work, usually such a chore due to ridiculous congestion on the highway, has been cut in half due to a new road cutting through a huge patch of recently reclaimed land.

It has been so surreal to watch this road on water appear. When we arrived in Hong Kong, two years ago, I took Krusty to the waterfront near his office, telling him the stories of my teenage years spent drinking cheap beer beside the sea. But all of those steps and memories have disappeared. We gradually watched the water get filled in, until now the seafront has advanced hundreds of metres towards Kowloon. (On the picture, the harbour I used to know started to the right of the huge road you can see on the right)

Of course, this new land had been "sold" to the people as an opportunity to create a green, cultural space with a promenade and sculpture parks, but in true Hong Kong fashion, there is now a five lane motorway there, with a series of shopping malls no doubt to follow.

But as I said, who am I to complain - this blight on Victoria harbour's landscape cuts my journey in half. So, bravo landfill.

Hold on, that sounded like the opposite of a moan. Am I getting sick again?