344: The Dearly Departed

The unmistakable incense, which I've been used to smelling, was stronger than ever as I passed by Long Ping Estate this afternoon.  August 23rd this year is Hungry Ghosts Month.  Billows of smoke from cardboard shoes, cars and clothes, joss sticks, and an array of food both fresh and rotting lined the walkway.  Black ash breezed past my face in fluid slow motion.  Welcoming the dead back to the world of the living has its repercussions--they're bound to bring something back with them to the underworld.

The gates of Heaven and Hell are open.

I woke up to the sound of a bell and a woman's voice.  "Next stop, Sham Shui Po," the recording said.  I looked out the bus window and saw the first drops of rain trickling down the pane.  Perfect, now all I need is some music to dampen my spirit even more.  Before I could even reach for my Sammy (yes, I'm not an Apple fanboi), the bus rolled to the stop so I reached for my umbrella instead.

I have finally decided to get rid of my phone, hopefully for a better one in the very near future (is an HTC Windows Phone too soon?).  But for better or for worse, I was there, haggling with suspicious looking merchants who knew the sellers from the buyers by the way they clutch their phone boxes.

After checking almost every stall, I settled to do my business with a slightly naive girl (bless you if you thought that was kinky).  The haggling was a bit tedious but not surprising.  Most of the stalls were expectedly controlled by a higher rank.  Each time I approached a vendor, they'd make a call.  I can only imagine the person at the end of the line having to hear a dozen versions of an HTC Touch Diamond 2 in very good condition with a very cheap asking price.

The exchange itself was quick.  Money, box, split.  And that's the underworld of Sham Shui Po.  I thought departing from my precious would be dramatic especially with the sudden rain.  But in reality, the first thing that comes to your mind is find shelter.

I got back to Yuen Long just in time to catch the news at the mall.  Most of the shoppers were glued on the TV.  I got curious.  It seemed action-packed.  A bus with Chinese words was parked horizontally in the middle of a highway.  I thought it was happening live somewhere in Hong Kong.  A few more minutes into the report, I realized that the whole thing was a hostage situation involving Chinese tourists back in my country!  The perpetrator, a former police officer.  Damn.

Then the SWAT team performed a full-on assault.  'Full-on' meant the use of mallets and hammers (or are they the same?).  Apparently, the "tactics" part of SWAT does not exist in the case of the Philippines.  Caught on camera, the whole operation was a potential Youtube viral video.  Double Damn.

The hostage drama ended with a few casualties.  I tried to exit nonchalantly amidst the worried Chinese viewers.  It's one of those days when you're not too proud to be from your country.  I hope though that people will see this as an isolated case.  One that involves a lunatic.  I mean, I never assume that retired Chinese men go on a killing rampage on primary school grounds during their free time.  It just so happens that in each country or society, locos abound.

Yue Laan Festival or Hungry Ghost surely took a feast this evening.  To those who are grieving their loss, like me, may we see them in the next life...or unit.

Quick Question of the day: What's a good phone to buy (no iPhones please)? 

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