August Moments
Slushies, ferry rides, and The Olympics
Hello, hello,
Welcome to August Moments - this is my monthly round-up of things that have caught my eye.
Here in Hong Kong, the weather in August is typically a hot and sweaty affair. And in this regard, August 2024 in Hong Kong did not disappoint. We also had some of the highest temperatures on record, as well as several ‘amber rains.’ This is part of a territory-wide rainstorm warning system that, in this case, indicates that at least 30mm of rainfall is expected in less than an hour.
Surprisingly, a short trip to Singapore at the end of July/early August managed to provide some respite where it was slightly less humid (and I say slightly less…).
I’d love to know what you have been up to this past month so please get in touch in the comments, or in the Chat!
Singapore
My first trip to Singapore was in 2015 when I was visiting a friend who had recently there moved for work. One evening my friend suggested heading to Chomp Chomp Food Centre located in Serangoon. Singapore is renowned for fantastic street food and many stalls now operate within a fixed location such as at Chomp Chomp. Back in 2015, I don’t recall what we ate, but I do remember drinking a massive glass of an iced sugarcane juice with sour plum. Just what I needed after a day of being a tourist.
Fast forward to this trip and as soon as my husband and I arrived at Chomp Chomp, I made a bee-line for a stall selling the same thing. (It may have even been the same stall).
My ‘nifty-fifty’ 📷
Shortly before the trip to Singapore I bought a new 50mm lens for my camera, something that I have been thinking about purchasing for a while. And while I was able to give it a proper spin, I have tried to take it out as much as possible since returning to Hong Kong.
One local trip I did was on the Star Ferry, a short (and very cheap) ride between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.
I did share a couple of other photos a couple of weeks ago from the same ferry ride. But the image below was my favourite, so I decided to save it for this post.
The Olympics
I am a big fan of large sporting events, especially The Olympics. And I was a teeny bit envious that one of my friends had tickets for the athletics in Paris (amongst other events, he was present for the women’s 800metre final where the British athlete, Keely Hodgkinson won gold).
However, one aspect that I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did was the appearance of Snoop Dogg. My favourite scene was him hanging out with the horses before the equestrian dressage.
Some other things I enjoyed:
This article from The Guardian about anhedonia (the inability to experience joy and/or pleasure).
Jon Ronson is now on Substack and seeing this I was reminded me that I hadn’t finished his excellent podcast Things Fell Apart, available on BBC Radio Four and BBC Sounds.
This piece from Katherine May about AI and our treatment of it.
This Note from Tom Cox about conversing with cows.
Coming up next week:
11th September - I am working on a piece about my favourite cafe ☕️🫖
Finally, if you like what you see at the The Best of Intentions, it helps tremendously when you give the heart a squeeze, share the piece with one of your mates, or leave a comment (I read and reply to all - a great joy!). Thank you 😉
It’s a really nice photograph of father and son. Looking forward to the cafe post!
August looked like a good month! xo