Ancient Treasures

I think I must have been a pirate in my previous life because my love for buried treasure has been burning since my baby feet first touched the ground. The tweeny pirate still has some buried "treasure" in her parents' back yard from her juvenile adventures and of course she owns the whole Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

I bought this lovely vase today. Somewhere high up in the mountains of an island in the South China sea, I found a little Chinese shop with an owner as old as the cobwebs hanging from it's shelves. Between all the ancientness I spotted this little lovely and bought it immediately.

You might not be aware that this dusty pot is in fact quite the artifact to acquire. Since my childhood I have longed to own a real Ming Vase. You'll find them in the homes of Queen Elizabeth,  Marie Antoinette and Indiana Jones. These porcelain vases date back almost 600 years to the Ming Dynasty, one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history.

Of course I don't think mine is a REAL Ming, but looking at my porcelain vase parading on my dining room cabinet, the seven year old pirate in me smiles a very satisfying smile :-D

It's Always Better on the Big Screen

We saw our first film at the cinemas yesterday. JOY! Of course I have been waiting for this privilege for a long time(as a certain someones studies paralysed my social endeavours) so I had some high expectations for this cinematic experience.

So I bought some tickets for Prince of Persia - one of my summer movie must-sees(and the only English film on circuit at the moment). The tickets took R60 out of my pocket - R30 pp. Which I got on half price sale as well, which made me realise for the hundredth time how ungrateful we can be for things until they are gone (referring to South Africans complaining about expensive movie ticket prices. R20 a ticket is NOT expensive people!).

Anyway, did I mention I was very excited? I was VERY EXCITED! Movie with my large popcorn and coke... EXCITED! But when I got there, there where no large popcorn... or coke... There where no food sold at the cinemas. I have no idea why not, but I write it off to the compulsive cleaning disorder I've noticed occurring in general Hong Kong - no eating or drinking allowed in public transport, no sitting down in public areas (this is such a weird and random rule) and loitering.

So the previews start and I start munching away on the banana and apple I bought at the supermarket next door, and up pops another rule on the big screen, "no speaking in cinema". Except for the fact that I'm starting to get irritated with all the silly rules you have to remember to follow just to be able to LIVE in this country, this is actually something I agree with for once. And I wish they could add this rule to South African cinemas to shut those annoying teenagers up who keep polluting film viewings with noisy, silly remarks.

Except for the funky, musky smell lingering around, I quite enjoyed it all. Not only Prince of Persia - which I loved! But also watching the film in total silence, with Cantonese subtitles on an extra, extra large big screen in a squeaky clean room. But next time I will pack my own extra large popcorn and coke :-)