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Photo: David Wong/SCMP

What Should My New Year's Resolutions Be?

Here are some new year’s resolutions for all my readers:

  • Always work to know more. Hong Kong is a wonderful and intriguing place. There’s a secret hidden around every corner, a piece of history or culture stuffed into every cranny. Don’t just pass over it.
     
  • Look up. Much of the beauty of Hong Kong is hidden in plain sight above our heads. Whether it’s the curved walls of old tong lau tenements, peeling shop signs or forests of TV antennae, the city comes alive above ground level.
     
  • Eat something that you wouldn’t normally. Depending on how able you are to deal with the unusual, it goes in the following order: chicken feet, pig blood, pig brains, deep fried insects. They are all delicious, so give them a go. But yes, you can skip the abalone.
     
  • Visit interesting corners of the city. Break out of your usual rut and set foot in the untrodden corners of the territory. Ever been to the Shing Mun Reservoir? The farms of Yuen Long? The Frontier Closed Area?
     
  • Give China a second/third chance. Not necessarily politically, but don’t automatically sneer at mainlanders. Visit. It’s an amazing country of wonderful places and welcoming people. And that’s without even mentioning the food.
     
  • Make time for the journeys. Our city is small and convenient, and the MTR and taxis rush us from place to place. The next time you hop on a tram, bus or ferry, actually watch the world go past for 10 or 15 minutes. You’ll be happier (and a little bit richer) for it. Can’t bear to slow down? Then grab a red minibus: All the benefits of watching the world go past, at something approaching the speed of sound. But buckle up!

And as for me? I only have one resolution for 2016: Finally answer the questions some readers are still sending me about where to get pictures framed, bags repaired or old lamps fixed. Even though I haven’t been doing that kind of thing for two and a half years now. So here’s your answer: To all readers still writing in looking for the perfect place to learn the art of batik fabric dying:

Google it.

Happy New Year, one and all!

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