Unless you know someone in one of the digital shopping centers like Sim Lee then I feel there is no point buying known brand electronics there bar a currency deviation making it a very good bargain.

Wife is currently on a British national Overseas passport (Hong Kongness) and we were looking at getting her a full strength, John Bull, Bread and Butter pudding, sunday roast British Passport but it seems like a lot of hassle and as she wants to stay in HK for the next 10-15 years at least due to work and parents the BNO suffices for visits to the UK/Europe (currently!).
Have you considered consulting with an immigration lawyer to get an idea of how they would resolve this, this was going to be my first action if the wife decided to change her mind?

Ask yourself, does NZ want you and your negative attitude?

As someone who took the jump, you have to remember that no matter where you are you are still the same person (at first) and that if you are moving for a negative reason then maybe that negativity is actually inside you and you need to resolve that first before than looking for positive reasons to move.

Beer talking IMHO etc

Currently in a in-between job as the wife was concerned that I planned to take a few months off to study and attempt to get some professional certificates under my belt and didnt want me to cut into my savings.
Now I have a dull job, low pay and still have to find time to study!
In Hong Kong there is no dole, especially for us who are not permanent residents yet.
A job you find uninteresting is worse than anything relating to money IMHO.

Cantonese would not be much use in Beijing, Mandarin the official language there, you would struggle to find Cantonese speakers anywhere (from my experience anyway)?

I went to a Surrey secondary school between 1984 and 1988, not once did my year actually take a foreign trip, I am struggling to remember more than one day trip during that 4 years.
Feel that I have now reached that age where I can actually say ‘kids these days….etc etc’.
3-4k Trips though, despite the amazing experience that they would provide I’m sure that must cause a lot of issues with those parents who just cannot afford it, that’s serious money?

From someone who is based in SEA, if the Philippines is all that is left then head to South America, 3 weeks traveling around Patagonia should dispel any doubts on your choice.

That wasn’t the Bird of Prey Bike I was expecting to see

The cycling mecca that is Singapore…..

My usual 25-40km local rides on Lantau typically average around 1000mtr of climbing.

Reykyavik, its winter so you may as well winter.
If you like saunas etc a weekend in Jurmala in Latvia is recommended.

Mod Revivals, although the next one seems to be delayed a little, is Paul Wellar ill?

Never usually see above 80 but fairly reliable.

Note to self, don’t let BigDummy fit my chainring.

I can just about do the basics i.e. stuff you would need to do on the trail to keep running and the usually greasing, oiling etc. Sadly not allowed to do any big or potentially messy jobs in my rather cramped crib so brake bleeds, tubeless stuff and suspension works get contracted out.

English
Spanish
French
Cantonese
Mandarin
Japanese
Russian
German

Well, you have to say thanks for the beers.

English
Spanish
French
Cantonese
Mandarin
Japanese

you just point and hold up the relevant amount of fingers

This for most places.

Why do we never hear about the unorganised crime gangs and their hilarious mishaps?

SHE says she’s Jewish, that’s good enough

Funniest thing I have heard all day, usually avoid these bunfight threads but that’s comedy gold.

And also, do you reckon Glen didn’t really die?

Spoiler alert!

Either it with all end with Rick getting out of the chemical shower in the RV realizing it was all a dream or Glenn is the famed Monty Python Black knight, that’s the only way he can come back.

“and then I said, that’s an ecumenacal matter”

Its a bit brutal for a season opener

Bought one recently from a computer bizarre in Sham Shui Po, non-brand Intel based Windows 10.1, 7″ Screen and 128GB of memory for general internet faffing and Kindle, around 80GBP.
Seems to be working fine and does the job.

Russia’s army could walk through Europe

It always makes me wonder when people say this, its like a 200 million Germans, Poles and assorted Eastern Europeans (not famed for there liking of the Russians due to recent history) would just stand back and let them in?

Move everyone to North America and Europe and leave the rest of the earth fallow for 10 years to recover, then rotate the earths population between continents every 10 years so we will get to enjoy the planet and us the resources available without screwing all of it up at the same time.

People who fail to indicate would get a bright yellow LED’s installed onto their foreheads which would flash continually for the rest of their natural life.

Not had a car in 7 years but I do live in a modern metropolitan city with ample and cheap public transport plus access to ‘on demand’ van hire if I need to get bulky items around, for example if moving home etc.
If I lived back in the UK in my old town, Newbury, I could not survive without a car.

e bikes are two wheeled mobility scooters .It is not cycling

e-Bikes will be the death knell for mountain biking as we know it, is that a good think, who knows?
I can see the point for leisure, commuting and to enable those with disabilities to get out and about but when fully abled riders start to use them to overcome technical and physical challenge’s then we have to ask ourselves what is the point of the challenge, why not just fit jetpacks to Olympic sprinters and allow kids to use Google in exams.

Wet shave all over 2 – 3 times a week.

+1

45 now and still good friends with 2 people since the age of 12, one I would class as my best friend even though we have lived 5000km apart over the last 7 years. Slowly removing ex-school friends from my FB, I will have the odd contact with one or two as some are spread out around the world but generally have no interest in seeing them and I am sure its the same with them.
In life you move on, people come and go, I think that’s a good thing as it means its up to you to make effort to keep the good ones and you get lots of chances to meet more good people.
I shall consider deleting this upbeat thread later as it probably goes against all that is STW .

As above, that 200 GBP extra will be a godsend, take Emerites.
Though I cannot speak for the long haul flights I have done many internal flights in the mainland with the local airlines to not want to spend more than 4 hours on one.
Though married to a HongKonger, mainland Chinese culture is always a shock to me, especially the complete lack of understanding of personal space so whatever you do don’t take a sleeper on the mainland, it makes all flight stories pale in comparison!

The most powerful person in the world is the one with the least constraints, so Putin at the moment.

And of course Chuck Norris all the time.

Same as in Hong Kong were they will not accept any document without a ‘chop’, an ink seal. You can get any ink seal made for 20GBP.

Has no-one suggested the Four Floors yet?

Funnily enough I had a beer in the Mustang bar last Tuesday (was with a Sing newbie, right of passage etc).

I have nothing to add to the above as they are all good suggestions but I’m partial to a walk around Pulau Udin island, especially when you catch the ‘bum boat’ from Changi Point.

Not a fan of Maxwell food center (my Singapore office used to be down the road in China Town) but there is a good one if you continue walking up South Bridge Road with the Maxwell Food court on the right, through china Town and up to the Upper Cross Street junction, across from that is the Hong Lim Food Centre, less touristy and one the locals use a lot, has a famous noodle place there but cant place the name.

Went to Penang about 4 years ago for a holiday, cant remember a thing so I guess its not on my ‘to return’ list.

Why don’t they just take a TU-160/B1B Bomber and replace the bomb bays with passenger seating, boom (ironic), you have a supersonic passenger plane?

Lovely Saturday trying to remember how to ride DH trails at Tai Mo Shan after breaking my collarbone in June, doesn’t help having a chap on a hardtail pressuring me on my FR bike, ruins a chaps confidence.

Mosquito Squadron
Platoon
Bridge over the River Kwai

But always Das Boot for that gritty realism.

Sadly disappointing compared with all the previous images.

I’m presuming Madison managed to buy the Endura Tape to use on their short sizing charts so it must be available somewhere?

Troy Lee Design clothing, I just don’t know why but I just don’t like it
People who are intolerant of other people’s cultures, and the Dutch

Its an an affront to decency and taste.

Why not something close to home, always fun spotting the odd ‘oh, wasn’t she in Emerdale’ etc?